At the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, we tell stories of modern metro Atlanta: its triumphs, its tragedies, its challenges, its people.
In the next few weeks we’ll be telling a story that’s 150 years old.
While the battle and burning of Atlanta are history and not news, knowing what happened in 1864 is essential to understanding not only today’s Atlanta, but the path of our nation.
And we’re telling it in a different way: as an innovative piece of digital storytelling called “War in Our Backyards.”
I’ve seen it and it’s engaging, groundbreaking work. Produced in cooperation with the Atlanta History Center, “War” is unlike anything The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has produced.
That’s because “War in Our Backyards” was conceived for an online audience so its emphasis is on visuals. Our editors thought that was the freshest way to retell a story whose broad outlines are familiar.
“There’s a lot you can learn from the numbers and photos and maps, not just from text,” said Ashlyn Still, an AJC digital developer who’s been working on the project since May. “You can really see the true impact.”
“War in Our Backyards” will be available exclusively on our premium news website MyAJC.com starting Saturday (July 19). If you subscribe to this newspaper, you’ll have free access to “War” on the site.
If you aren’t a subscriber, you can purchase a day pass to MyAJC for 99 cents.
The story is about an end and a beginning.
The end of the antebellum South, the Confederacy and slavery in the United States. And the beginning of a New South, spearheaded by Atlanta, and a new America.
Starting on July 20, 1864, Confederate forces fought a series of bloody battles in an attempt to stop Gen. William T. Sherman’s Union Army from capturing Atlanta. At stake was the city’s vital rail hub and industrial capacity, and more importantly, President Lincoln’s re-election. Sherman’s defeat might have meant Lincoln’s ouster, the election of a pro-compromise U.S. president and a recognized Confederate nation.
However, Sherman captured Atlanta, sealing the fate of the Confederacy – and of slavery.
Scott Peacocke, Senior Editor for Data Journalism, headed the project and grew up in Atlanta. He started pushing the idea last fall.
“People here really don’t understand Atlanta’s importance in American history,” Peacocke said. “People come here from other places and don’t realize it. And we’ve paved over so much of the history. I thought people would be fascinated to see the changes to America that were wrought here.”
Sherman’s subsequent burning of Atlanta opened the way for a new city, but it destroyed virtually all traces of the battlefields. One of the fascinating aspects of “War in Our Backyards” is that in numerous maps and photos, it compares the Atlanta of the 1860s to the city of today.
Places you may walk or drive by regularly were dirt streets or fields where Americans bled and died all those years ago.“War in Our Backyards” shows you where it happened and what it looks like today.
And the project does much more. It uses maps, charts, interactive photos, videos and text to tell the comprehensive story.
Still did much of the design, assisted by fellow AJC developer Emily Merwin, and it’s meant to be viewed on computer, tablet, even mobile phone.
On Aug. 3 the final piece of “War” debuts. It’s a 10-minute video done by the Atlanta History Center comparing the Atlanta of 1864 to the city of today - in 3D.
How will you watch a 3D video? Easy: we’ll provide 3D glasses with your Sunday newspaper that day.
“War in Our Backyards” offers a clear-eyed view of the events that took place here. It doesn’t celebrate or express sorrow. It addresses the tough subjects, including slavery. Peacocke thought it was important to reflect that while most white Atlantans derided Sherman as a villain, African-Americans saw him as a liberator.
The project became consuming for Peacocke, a self-described “Civil War geek” who said he, Still, Merwin, and videographer Ryon Horne spent hundreds of hours on it. Despite the project’s cutting-edge nature, Peacocke spent days poring over old books, on the phone with Civil War experts, even inspecting cemeteries and entrenchments to inform the project.
We’ll offer a small taste of “War” on our free website, ajc.com. And in coming weeks there will be a stream of stories in the print newspaper tied to the 150th anniversary.
But “War in Our Backyards” is special, showcasing the you-can’t-find-it-anywhere-else journalism you’ll often find on MyAJC.com. If you haven’t checked out our premium website, “War” offers a perfect opportunity to try it.
